MBA 907 - LEADING THE GLOBAL AND
COLLABORATIVE WORKFORCE
Lecture 3 – Shaping Culture And Values Within A
Globally Diverse And Transient Team
Developed by Dr Sunaina Gowan
The lecture material contains content owned by KOI and other materials copyrighted by Daft, RL 2022, The
Leadership Experience, Cengage Learning, Boston and Cole, K., Noble, J., Rule, T., Slingo, K. and Worth, B.,
CRICOS 03171A 1
2023. Leadership and Management: Theory and Practice. 8th ed. AU/Ns.
Learning objectives
• Explain why shaping culture is a vital function of leadership.
• Describe the characteristics of a healthy culture, as opposed to
a toxic culture, and how to establish a high-performance
culture.
• Explain how leaders can shape culture and values through
ceremonies, stories, symbols, slogans, selection and
socialization, and daily actions.
• Identify the cultural values associated with adaptability,
achievement, involvement, and consistency cultures and the
environmental conditions associated with each.
• Describe the principles of workplace spirituality and spiritual
leadership.
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Culture and Norms
Culture
• The set of key values, assumptions, understandings,
and norms that is shared by members of an
organization and taught to new members as correct
Norms
• Shared standards that define what behaviors are
acceptable and desirable within a group of people
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Levels of Corporate Culture
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Importance of Culture
It integrates members so that
they know how to relate to one
another
It helps the organization
adapt to the external
environment
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The Functions of the Culture
provides a foundation of shared values
helps the organization adapt to the external
environment.
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External Adaptation
• Determines how to meet goals and deal with
outsiders
• Helps to respond rapidly to customer needs or a
competitor’s moves
• Encourages employee commitment to the core
purpose of the organization
• Determines what is needed to meet external
challenges
• Embodies the values and assumptions needed to
succeed 7
Culture Strength
The degree of agreement among employees about
the importance of specific values and ways of
doing things.
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Toxic versus Healthy Cultures
Toxic Culture Healthy Culture
Culture in which persistent negative Culture that promotes positive values
sentiments and infighting cause stress, and creates an environment in which all
unhappiness, and lowered productivity people feel valued, commit themselves
among subgroups of employees to the organization’s goals, and can
meet their needs for personal fulfilment
and self-development
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Culture Gap
The difference between desired and actual values
and behaviors.
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Knowledge Check─Discussion
• As a leader, how might you recognize a culture gap?
What techniques might you use to influence and
change cultural values when necessary? Discuss with
a partner.
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Combining Culture and Performance
Source: Adapted from Jeff Rosenthal and Mary Ann Masarech, “High-Performance Cultures: How Values Can Drive Business Results,” Journal of
Organizational Exellence (Spring 2003), pp. 3-18; and Dave Ulrich, Steve Kerr, and Ron Ashkenas, Figure 11–2, GE Leadership Decision Matrix, The
GE Work-Out: How to Implement GE’s Revolutionary Method for Busting Bureaucracy and Attacking Organizational Problems—Fast! (New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2002), p. 230.
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High-Performance Culture
A culture that is based on a solid mission,
embodies shared responsive values that guide
decisions, and encourages individual ownership of
both bottom-line results and cultural values.
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Cultural Leader
A leader who actively uses signals and symbols to
influence corporate culture.
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Cultural Leadership
• Cultural leaders influence culture
– Articulate a vision for the organizational culture that
employees can believe in
– Heed the day-to-day activities that reinforce the cultural
vision
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Mechanisms That Enact Cultural Values
Rites and ceremonies
Stories
Symbols
Specialized language
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Mechanisms That Enact Cultural Values
Selection and socialization
Daily actions
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Ceremony
A planned activity that constitutes a special event
and is generally conducted for the benefit of an
audience.
18
Ceremony
• Reinforce specific values
• Create a bond among employees
• Celebrate employees who symbolize important
achievements
– Ceremonies are often accompanied by the presentation of
awards
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Story
A narrative based on true events that is repeated
frequently and shared among employees.
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Story
• Used to illustrate the company’s primary values
• May not be supported by facts but is consistent with
the values and beliefs of the organization
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Symbol
An object, act, or event that conveys meaning to
others.
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Specialized Language
• Language can shape and influence organizational
values and beliefs
• Leaders use slogans or statements to express key
corporate values
• Leaders express and reinforce cultural values through
written public statements
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Socialization
The process by which a person learns the cultural
values, norms, and behaviors that enable them to
“fit in” with a group or organization.
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Selection and Socialization
• Companies with healthy cultures have rigorous hiring
practices
• Socialized people “fit in” with others in the
organization
• Common socialization tools
– Leaders act as role models
– Training programs
– Rituals
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Daily Actions
• Important to maintain the desired culture
• Evaluations should include
– Work performance
– Demonstration of organizational values
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Organizational Values
The enduring beliefs that have worth, merit, and
importance for the organization.
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Organizational Values
• Concerns
– Changes in the nature of work
– Globalization
– Increasing diversity in the workforce
– Shifts in the larger society
• Two dimensions to be assessed
– Extent to which the competitive environment requires flexibility or stability
– Extent to which the organization’s strategic focus and strength is internal or
external
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Four Corporate Cultures
Source: Based on Daniel R. Denison and Aneil K. Mishra, “Toward a Theory of Organizational Culture and Effectiveness,” Organizational Studies 6, no. 2 (March–
April 1995), pp. 204–223; Robert Hooijberg and Frank Petrock, “On Cultural Change: Using the Competing Values Framework to Help Leaders Execute a
Transformational Strategy,” Human Resource Management 32, no. 1 (1993), pp. 29–50; and R. E. Quinn, Beyond Rational Management: Mastering the Paradoxes
and Competing Demands of High Performance (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998).
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Types of Corporate Culture
Adaptability culture
• Culture characterized by values that support the
organization’s ability to interpret and translate signals
from the environment into new behavior responses
Achievement culture
• Culture characterized by a clear vision of the
organization’s goals and leaders’ focus on the
achievement of specific targets
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Types of Corporate Culture
Involvement culture
• Culture with an internal focus on the involvement and
participation of employees to meet changing
expectations from the external environment
Achievement culture
• Culture with an internal focus and consistency
orientation for a stable environment
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Ethics
The code of moral principles and values that
governs the behavior of a person or group with
respect to what is right and wrong.
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Values-Based Leadership
An influence relationship between leaders and
followers that is based on shared, strongly
internalized values that emphasize the common
good and are consistently advocated and acted
upon by the leader.
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Values-Based Leadership
• Leaders influence organizational culture
– Demonstrating their personal values
Generates trust and respect from employees
– Practicing spiritual leadership
Values and practices considered as spiritual ideals include integrity,
humility, respect, appreciation for the contributions of others, fair
treatment, and personal reflection
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Spiritual Leadership
The display of values, attitudes, and behaviors
necessary to intrinsically motivate oneself and
others toward a sense of spiritual expression
through calling and membership.
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Model of Spiritual Leadership
Source: Based on Louis W. Fry, Sean T. Hannah, Michael Noel, and Fred O. Walumbwa, “Impact of Spiritual Leadership on Unit Performance,” The
Leadership Quarterly 22 (2011), pp. 259–270; and Louis W. Fry, “Toward a Theory of Spiritual Leadership,” The Leadership Quarterly 14 (2003), pp.
693–727. Used with permission.
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Summary
• Organizational Culture
• Culture Strength and Performance
• Cultural Leadership
• The Competing Values Approach to Culture Types
• Values-Based Leadership
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